Newsmaker Q&A: Jennifer Yuengling

Jennifer Yuengling is plant coordinator for the family owned Pottsville brewery D.G. Yuengling and Son, which has been in business since 1829. She and her sister Wendy Yuengling Baker work for their father Dick Yuengling, the company's fifth-generation owner. She is the subject of this week's Q&A.

Q: How old were you when you had your first beer? Was it a Yuengling or something else?

A: I honestly can't recall my first beer, but rest assured I'm certain it was a Yuengling.

Q: What's your favorite aspect of the brewery business?

A: The brewing industry is a fairly close-knit group of individuals. Particularly brewers who are craft/regional in size. There's a sense of wanting each other to succeed and having the "smaller" breweries continue their successes. Brewers have a passion for their craft and tend to enjoy learning about new processes and developments that "rival" brewers may have discovered. Craft and regional brewers have more of a friendly rivalry as opposed to the cut-throat attitudes of the mega-brewers.

Q: What's the most difficult part of the business?

A: What's been difficult in the years that I have been involved with the brewery is learning how to grow, but still trying to maintain that small, local brewery mystique. We've evolved from an old coal-region brewery to a significant United States regional brewer in a relatively short period of time. The difficulty lies in trying to manage the people that we bring on board throughout this process of growth and maintaining the atmosphere and work-ethic that has gotten us to this point. It's so important to remember where we came from.

Q: What's your favorite food to enjoy with a beer?

A: It's not often that I dig into a good burger, but when I do it's definitely enjoyed with a cold Lager.

Q: You have a background in psychology. Has that helped at all with beer-brewing or helping to run a large business?

A: This question gave me a good chuckle! From the training that I received during my psychology education, I learned that psychology is applicable in any situation or environment. What better place to put some cognitive-behavioral techniques into action than a 5th generation family business!

Q: Beer-drinkers around the country would like to have Yuengling sold in their states. What do you think about the company's conservative, slow and steady growth strategy?

A: My dad's concept of conservative growth has, in my opinion, been a key factor in our success today. If he had tried to grow the business too quickly, I don't believe our company would have been able to efficiently manage many of the day-to-day issues that surface. For the number of years that we have seen consistent growth, we still struggle at times with meeting market demand and keeping up with ever-changing technology.

Q: Tell us something people would be surprised to know about your dad.

A: My dad is a very simple guy. He has a common-sense type of smartness and a unique charisma that has helped propel him to the iconic status that he holds today. What's surprising, though, is that he prefers the background and likes staying low-key despite his success.